Meet the five candidates for Assembly District 15:
Pamela Y. Price
Pamela Y. Price was born in Dayton, Ohio and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science in 1978. While at Yale, she spent her Junior Year Abroad at the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa.
Price attended Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned her J.D. and a Master’s degree in Jurisprudence & Social Policy in 1982. She started her career as a Community Defender in Bayview Hunter’s Point in San Francisco. In June 1991, she founded the law firm of Price And Associates in Oakland. Her Firm represents victims of sex and race discrimination and regularly obtains large jury verdicts in difficult race and gender discrimination trials.
Price currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco (LCCR). Every year since 2004, she has been named one of the top 5% of Northern California “Super Lawyers” by San Francisco Magazine. Price has received numerous awards including the Charles Houston Bar Association’s Clinton W. White Advocacy Award (1993 and 2001), Gamma Phi Delta Sorority’s Community Service Award – Excellence in Law, California Association of Equal Rights Professionals’ Founders Award of Achievement (2003) and Arthur A. Fletcher Award of Achievement (2010), LCCR’s Living the Dream Award (2009), Glad Tidings Church of God in Christ’s Supporter of the Vision Award (2011), the National Bar Association’s Heman Marion Sweatt Award (2011), the Hayward-South Alameda County NAACP Service Award for Social Justice (2012), Flyaway Productions’ Ten Women Campaign Award and the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund’s Maria Miller Stewart Award.
Elizabeth Echols
Elizabeth Echols brings a unique blend of public and community service to her candidacy for State Assembly. Raised in Berkeley, her public service career has taken her across the nation, all the way to the White House.
She served as an Internet and e-commerce advisor to Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton Administration. Most recently, President Obama appointed Elizabeth as Regional Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and Senior Advisor on Clean Tech and Energy Efficiency Initiatives.
Locally, Elizabeth was elected to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee in 2006 and has served as a delegate to the Democratic State Central Committee each year since. She is an Executive Board Member of the National Women’s Political Caucus Alameda North Chapter, and Board Member of the Alameda County Democratic Lawyers.
Elizabeth has been recognized as a “Mover and Shaker” by Business Week, and received the Gold Medal Award, the highest honor presented by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. She has been profiled in numerous publications, including The New York Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Wired Magazine, The National Journal, and Working Women Magazine.
Elizabeth grew up in Berkeley and was raised by a single mother; she was one of four children. She attended local public schools including what is now Rosa Parks Elementary School. She attended Yale University on scholarships and graduated with honors. She put herself through Stanford Law School where she served as an editor on the Stanford Law Review. Elizabeth resides in the East Bay with her husband Parviz.
http://www.echolsforassembly.com/
Sam Kang
Sam Kang is a community organizer and consumer protection attorney. He is currently the general counsel of the Greenlining Institute, a prominent civil rights advocacy organization that fights for working families and diverse communities.
Born in Korea, Sam immigrated to the United States thirty years ago and grew up working in his family’s small business. Watching his family struggle made him realize just how precious and fragile the American Dream is. The difficulties faced by Sam and his family taught him the importance of fighting for everyone in the community, and motivated him to attend law school to help other working families.
Sam has built his life and career as an advocate for underserved communities, and has a long list of accomplishments. Some of his biggest accomplishments include writing and successfully passing legislation that prevented cuts to financial aid for college students, promoting opportunities for small businesses, and defending laws that protect the health and environment of underserved communities.
Sam currently serves on the BART Civil Rights and Environmental Justice Committee. He was also appointed by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to serve on the State Insurance Diversity Task Force. He previously served on the Alameda County Parks, Recreation and Historical Commission.
When Sam is not on the campaign trail, you might see him running along the beautiful San Francisco Bay Trail near the Berkeley Marina or cheering on the 49ers at his brother-in-law’s house in El Cerrito. He spends his precious free evenings watching movies with his wife and partner, Akiko.
http://www.samkangforassembly.com/
Andy Katz
Andy Katz, an environmental attorney, is serving his second term as an elected Boardmember at the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the governing body that ensures clean and reliable water in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. In 2013, he was elected Board President.
Andy also serves as Government Affairs Director at Breathe California, an organization fighting for clean air and public health in our state, and he is the former Chair of Sierra Club California.
Andy began his public service career in 2001, when, at the age of 21, he was appointed to the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board, where he served through 2006. On the Board, Andy fought for affordable housing and transit-oriented development, and served a term as Board President.
Andy has worked to protect our environment, clean up the air we breathe, support working families, and create jobs. He offers a deep knowledge of the issues and a track record that demonstrates his effectiveness. Andy has a deep commitment to education, to social justice, and to improving the lives of those he serves. His values reflect the progressive values of our District.
In the Assembly, Andy will fight to create good green jobs for California, protect and strengthen our climate protection and clean energy laws, and reinvest in our schools.
Andy holds a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley, and a law degree from Santa Clara University. He has been a resident of Berkeley for more than 15 years.
http://www.andykatz.com/
Tony Thurmond
Tony Thurmond knows that if we get it right for our kids, then we’ll get it right for California.
That’s why, as a non-profit leader, school board member, city councilmember and mentor, Tony has been making real progress on the big issues facing Californians today – the economy, education, crime and safety, and the environment.
Tony has been uniting people in support of youth and families for more than 20 years. Now Tony is ready to put his skills and experience to work in Sacramento as our new assemblymember for District 15.
“To get it right, we need to give our youth a California as good as its promise,” says Tony. “To get there, we need to do the real work to improve our schools, reduce dropout rates, create sustainable jobs that preserve our environment and invest in job training opportunities to build a 21st-century workforce.”
Tony has helped build our district’s economy from the ground up, creating innovative job training and workforce housing programs and creating sustainable jobs for California youth. His current project, CEO Youth, is succeeding in improving school attendance and reducing dropout rates. Tony has been at the forefront of combating gang and gun violence in his community in Richmond, and actively involved in regional crime and safety efforts along the I-80 corridor.
Tony served on the Richmond City Council from 2005-2008. He served as Council Liaison to Richmond’s Youth Commission and Workforce Investment Board and the Council Liaison to the West Contra Costa Unified School District.
http://www.tonythurmond.com/
